


Healing Light

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 01:33:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13225404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: An accident with Rania awakens new powers.





	Healing Light

Rania had warned you when the two of you had met that she’d be getting you into trouble. Dragging you into danger with her. Risking life and limb for a little fun. For a blind girl, she could be quite reckless.

But somehow, you hadn’t actually believed that anything bad would come of your adventures. Sure, you’d poked the bear named GED and had to run from them and wolves quite a few times, but you’d always managed to escape unscathed. Dellingr knew these woods like one of the smaller creatures who lived here, knowing which shortcuts to take and what pitfalls to avoid.

You’d never been beyond the fallen tree, though.

“Come on, it’ll be fine,” Rania had urged as you’d hesitated at the large trunk and the prickles that blocked your way.

“I dunno,” you’d said, fiddling with your horse’s reins and eyeing up the blockage.

“I didn’t know that the person who followed me back to my home, ran from wolves, and foiled GED was a coward,” Rania had teased. You’d blushed at that, rising to the challenge. The bait.

And so, you’d carefully wriggled over the fallen tree together, and then had waited on the other side with Rania.

“Dellingr!” she’d called, backing up a ways until she was on the bridge, leaning on the side with her cane out in front of her. You’d stood beside her and called your own horse.

In seconds, a Haflinger had soared over the roadblock like it was nothing, and your own horse soon followed with a frightened neigh. You’d run up to your horse, petting him and congratulating him for making the jump, while Dellingr had walked over to his rider and received his rewarding pets.

“Now, let’s go explore!” Rania had urged after settling back into Dellingr’s saddle. She’d clicked her tongue, and the two of you had set off, exploring unknown territory together as two reckless teenagers were wont to do. A part of you had worried, but that part had been overshadowed by the hum of excitement over exploring a whole new land.

Now, though, you wish you’d listened to that worry.

“Rania, watch out!” you call, right as the ground crumbles beneath Dellingr’s hooves and the two of them fall. You gallop to catch up with her, but your hand just barely misses her grasping fingers.

“We can’t let her fall,” your horse murmurs to you, and you nod and allow him to pick a safe way down. Jorvik Warmbloods are smart like that, inherently knowing the land on which they tread.

By the time you reach the bottom, Rania and Dellingr have also reached the bottom. They are not standing. You take a deep breath as you ride over to them, dismounting on the crumbled earth that has ferried them so swiftly to the ground. No wonder that trail had been closed off, the ground is unsafe, washed out by rains.

“Rania!” you call, finding her lying in the muddy rubble. Dellingr struggles to stand, dirt muddying his white mane and tail and darkening his dappled coat. He neighs, clearly worried about his rider, and tries nuzzling her. Rania groans, not moving but opening her eyes.

“Dellingr,” she murmurs. Then, she calls your name.

“It’s okay, I’m here,” you say, touching her shoulder gently. But Rania hisses in pain.

“We got ourselves into some trouble, hey?” says Rania with a laugh. But you’re not laughing. No, you’re busy trying to figure out how Rania has been hurt. You can’t see much wrong with her on the outside, just some scratches on her hands, arms, and face, but you can tell that she’s in pain. She’s almost crying from it.

“Stay here, I’ll go and get Alonso,” you say, looking up the slope.

“You’ve got a phone, right?” says Rania.

“Yes, but I don’t know his number,” you say. “Or the number of the ranger station.”

“No worries, I’ve got it,” says Rania, automatically moving her arm to grab her phone from her pocket. “Ah! Just… reach into my pocket.” She grimaces, and you try to grab the phone as neatly as you can, though your hands are shaking. Your thumb slides across the screen, and you have a moment to wonder how Rania can use this before a voice-activation software starts up.

“Hello, Rania,” says a feminine voice from the phone. “What would you like to do?”

“Call Alonso,” says Rania, her voice loud enough for the phone to pick it up. You expect the phone to call someone else, but it doesn’t.

“Calling Alonso,” says the phone, and it rings a few times before the phone picks up.

“Hello? Rania?” says Alonso. “Are you okay, what’s happened?” You’re almost jealous by the concern in his voice, but then you remember that Rania is a blind girl going about the woods with only her horse for company, and she does have a penchant for getting into trouble. Alonso is also a bit of a worrier.

“I slipped and fell off that old trail,” says Rania.

“You mean the one that’s been blocked off by the tree that fell down in that storm a while ago? Rania!” Alonso chides, and you can just picture his alarmed look, followed by his frown.

“Well, maybe if you’d hurry up and fix it, I wouldn’t have snuck onto it,” says Rania. “Just… where are we, again?” You know that she’s talking to you, though she doesn’t turn her head to look at you. She must have broken her collarbone, and you cringe in sympathy. But then, you lick your lips and swallow, and look around.

“We’re in the quarantine area, by the little dock,” you say.

“Well, at least you landed on the ground,” says Alonso. “I’ll be there in a few, don’t move.”

“No problem,” says Rania with a bitter laugh, and Alonso ends the call. The phone then informs you of this fact.

“Maybe I can help you,” you say, remembering what the druids have said about you being able to use all four Circle’s powers. Rania raises an eyebrow.

“How?” asks Rania. “I can’t move anything other than my legs right now, I’m in too much pain.” She grunts. “This was a stupid idea.” She looks angry.

“I’m going to try something,” you say. “I’m a member of the Keepers of Aideen.” Rania snorts.

“What, are you going to sprinkle herbs or flowers on me or something?” asks Rania. You smile, knowing she can’t see it.

“No, but I am going to attempt to heal you,” you say. You know that it works, you’ve healed yourself and your horse every time the two of you have gotten injured in the past.

“Again, how?” asks Rania. “Don’t try feeding me flowers or anything, either.”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing like that,” you say. You call your horse over, and it trots over to stand by you. You put one hand on your horse, drawing on your combined powers, and the other you hold in the air over a scratch on Rania’s arm. You figure that you’ll try healing the smaller injuries first.

“What are you doing?” asks Rania as pink light pours from your hand over the wound, the skin knitting back together neatly. There’s only a thin pale line now where the scratch was.

“Shh,” you hush her, needing to concentrate. You move your hand and the light over all of the scratches, one by one, and they all heal perfectly. Then, you focus your attention on the next injury up her body. You hear a muffled crack as the broken collarbone joins back together, and Rania cries out in pain but doesn’t move.

“It feels weird,” Rania mutters, her eyes squeezed shut against the pain.

“But does it hurt anymore?” you ask, knowing somehow that the bone beneath the skin is knitting back together. It’s draining, but you don’t stop.

“No,” says Rania, wiggling her shoulders and sitting up. “Huh. Wow. How did you do that?” She grins.

“I told you, druid magic,” you say, grinning. “I’ll just fix up your face now and then I’m done.” Rania laughs, joy lighting up her face.

Your magic seeks out the injuries on her face and heals them, the skin knitting back together. It uses far more magic than you anticipated, but maybe the cuts are deeper here. They’re certainly bleeding enough.

When you finish, though, Rania gasps and covers her eyes with her hands.

“Did I do something wrong?” you ask, worried.

“No, it’s just so bright,” says Rania, rubbing her eyes. She blinks at you, and you notice, with a start, that the cloudiness covering her eyes is gone. Then Rania shuts her eyes again, grimacing in pain.

“Bright?” you repeat, confused and a little alarmed.

“I thought you were only going to heal my broken bones,” says Rania, slowly opening her eyes again. She looks down at her arms in amazement, finding nothing but blood and dirt on the brown skin. Then, she looks back up at where you crouch in front of her.

“Sorry,” you say, gasping once you realise what you’ve done. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I had no idea what I was doing-“

“The doctors said there was no cure,” Rania murmurs, still looking at her hands. She looks around herself, still squinting but marvelling at everything she can now see.

“Well, just call me Jesus,” you joke. Rania hugs you tightly.

“Thank you,” says Rania, grinning. Dellingr steps closer to her, sniffing at her face.

“Ha ha, I haven’t seen you for ages, boy,” says Rainia, grinning as she pets him. “Look at you, you’re all dirty.”

You hear a splash, and the two of you look across the lake to see Alonso swimming Mardy over, the mare swimming through the water as calmly as she wanders through the forest.

“Are you two okay?” asks Alonso, approaching the two of you. He’s surprised to see Rania’s clear eyes. “Woah.”

“I’m better than okay, I’m completely cured,” says Rania, grinning. She looks around in amazement. “I’ve never seen any of this before, not since…” She trails off, a look of sadness overcoming her features.

“But how?” asks Alonso, marvelling as the girl stands and walks over to the edge of the stream to wash the blood from her arms and face.

“What do you know about the Keepers of Aideen?” you ask Alonso.

“Just that they’re druids who believe in a creation goddess called Aideen,” says Alonso. “I don’t know if I believe them or I don’t, but this right here is definitely a miracle.” He gestures at Rania, looking around at the forest with quite literally new eyes.

“I did that,” you say, also looking at Rania. Dellingr stands beside her, and Rania keeps a hand on his back out of habit.

“Then I guess you’re more amazing than I thought,” says Alonso, smiling at you. You blush.

“We should probably get her home before word spreads to her mother,” you say.

“Good idea,” says Alonso with a laugh. “I don’t envy any future partner she has.”

Sigry looks shocked when she sees Rania walking up to her without the aid of a cane. She drops the axe she’s been using to chop wood, it thuds into the ground.

“Rania?” says Sigry, blinking her eyes in disbelief.

“Hi, mama,” says Rania, grinning. “I’m home!”

“What is this?” asks Sigry, pulling her daughter close to her and looking into her eyes. “Rania, what have you done?” Her voice is stern.

“Well, I tripped and scraped my hands up in the woods, and my new friend here healed me. Only… they healed more than my scratches,” says Rania with a sheepish grin. “Wow, mama, I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“Oh, Rania,” says Sigry, and hugs her. “Please be more careful in the future.”

“I will, mama,” says Rania. “But I think right now, I’m going to go and look at the butterflies and the birds and everything I’ve missed. Bye, mama!” She bids you farewell as well, then mounts Dellingr and rides back off into the forest. Sigry watches her go, smiling faintly. But when she looks at you, her face is stern.

“You had no right trying to heal my daughter,” says Sigry, her voice as stern as her face.

“I’m sorry,” you say, blinking in confusion. “I just thought I’d-“

“I went to the druids myself when we first found out about her condition,” says Sigry, her hands clenching into fists and her face twisting into a scowl of rage. “I asked if they could do anything. Rania was devastated, never to see again, to lose her sight, to never again explore the forests of Mistfall or even to go beyond her home to see what other sights Jorvik had to offer. But the druids said that any cure would only be temporary. The nature of her condition, it… it will continue to take, even when there is nothing left to take. They said that her body was attacking her eyes, and that it could not be stopped.”

“I’m sorry,” you say again, guilt twisting your insides. This time, guilt shadows your words. What have you done?

“It was… a noble gesture, I suppose,” says Sigry. “But it won’t last. The best-case scenario is that she’ll slowly lose her vision again over time. Worst-case… she wakes up blind again tomorrow.”

“Are you going to tell her?” you ask, a lump in your throat that has everything to do with what you’ve done. Shame burns through you, at the knowledge that you thought you’d done something good. Will any future cures you administer hold? Tears sting your eyes, and you look down.

“I will leave that up to you,” says Sigry, tearing her axe out of the ground and shaking clumps of mud and grass from it. “You did this, after all.”

“I didn’t know,” you say, your voice tight in your throat. Sigry grunts as she hefts the axe back.

“No, you didn’t,” says Sigry. “You’re a foolish child. I know that healers want to heal everyone, but they can’t. Not everyone can be healed.” She glares at you, then brings her axe down on a piece of wood sitting on a wood block.

Your throat closes up as you go off in search of Rania. You find her snapping photos of the butterflies on her phone, and you swallow thickly as you ride up to her. Rania looks at you, and you try to stop yourself from flinching, or from checking for any squinting.

“Hi,” says Rania, smiling at you. “What’s up?”

“Your mum just wasn’t very happy that I went and got into trouble with you,” you say, the lie coming easily from your lips.

“Don’t worry, she just worries too much,” says Rania with a laugh. You smile, but you know that it doesn’t reach your eyes. You can’t tell her what Sigry just told you, not now when she’s so happy. Maybe you’ll tell her tomorrow. Or maybe you’ll tell her when the guilt becomes too much, when it threatens to consume you, when she looks at you with sightless eyes and wonders why it didn’t work.

You know that it’s not your fault, but that doesn’t stop the guilt from tugging at you every time Rania marvels over a new tree, or a new flower, or a little hedgehog den that she finds. You can’t bear to see her so happy when you know that it’s only fleeting, and so you leave.

And, on the day when you receive a call from Sigry, you get on your horse and you run away.


End file.
